Memphis (2-3) at Los Angeles Clippers (3-2): Injuries have been the story of the first round of the playoffs, and the Los Angeles Clippers have officially joined the party. Caron Butler has been playing with a broken hand, and it seems his two superstar teammates will have to toughen up and join him in playing through injuries. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul each were hurt in Game 5, and though they are likely to play, a gimpy version of the two could prove
Everyone wanted another glorious chapter in the Knicks-Heat rivalry. Everyone wanted the surging Knicks to catch the overconfident Heat by surprise. Everyone wanted a motivated Carmelo Anthony to outplay a befuddled LeBron James. Everyone wanted Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler to overwhelm Miami’s questionable frontcourt. Everyone wanted an ultimate game, the way these teams settled matters every year from 1997 to 2000. You know what? That was almost a generation ago. It doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is the Heat have James, and Wade,
KNICKS/HEAT There will be no more professional basketball in New York City, at least until next season as the Knicks fall to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round series on Wednesday night in Miami, 106-94. LeBr0n James had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade both scored 19 points. Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points for the Knicks. Anthony has played 54 postseason games, being part of wins only 17 times. Amare Stoudemire scored 14 points, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith both added 12,Mike
What looked to be a fast ending to the first round of the playoffs took a turn for the competitive good on Tuesday night when three of the four teams that faced elimination – the Hawks, Bulls and Nuggets – all survived to play a Game 6. The New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies are in the same boat – down 3-1 in their respective series – and they will try to avoid elimination on Wednesday night rather than go fishing,
One team, the Dallas Mavericks, has already been knocked out of the playoffs. If you want to bash Mark Cuban for it, you should read this first. The Utah Jazz will look to avoid the same fate in Game 4 against the mighty San Antonio Spurs, who seem to have forgotten how to lose – winning their last 13 contests. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers hope to put themselves in a dominant position to take the series from the Memphis Grizzlies, who
Take out the brooms. Who would have thought we’d be saying that about the reigning World Champions? The Dallas Mavericks were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night after only eight days of playoff basketball, becoming the first team to be eliminated in the 2011-2012 Playoffs. As the TNT crew stated, they’re going fishing. It marked only the second time the team was swept out of the playoffs. The first time was against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1990, in a best-of-5 format. It
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the less glamorous teams in the postseason party. They shoot 3-pointers about as poorly as any team in the NBA. They don’t have many high flyers offering up highlight-reel dunks a la Blake Griffin. They have not one but two ground-bound post players in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies simply defend like mad, play through their big men and try to make hay in transition and at the free-throw line. And for the last
The Coach of the Year was announced Tuesday, with Gregg Popovich coming out on top by a wide margin. It was certainly well-deserved, but there were plenty of other coaches that warranted attention as well. Thirteen coaches received votes, including Frank Vogel, Lionel Hollins, Tyrone Corbin, Stan Van Gundy and Vinny Del Negro – mid-season crisis and all. The work of these fine coaches will be on display tonight as we look into the preview of three playoff games on Wednesday night. Utah (0-1) at